When the Argentinian writer Mercedes Ron first wrote “Culpa Mia» on Wattpad, his first installment guilty trilogy, she had no idea that the young adult love series would take her on her own adventure ride. Fast forward to today, her books have sold more than 3.3 million copies worldwide, amassed a massive audience of 80 million fans on Wattpad, as well as film adaptations with Prime Video.
“It was, for me, a dream come true. I [always] I wanted to make a movie about this book, so I wrote all the races and all the fights [in],” Ron tells Refinery29 Somos during a press conference in Madrid, Spain Culpa Tuya, the second installment in the trilogy currently airing on Prime Video. “To have the opportunity to make a film and have it succeed is amazing.”
In Culpa Miathe audience meets 17-year-old Noah Morgan, who has to leave her normal quiet life when her mother unexpectedly marries a billionaire. In her new world, there is a stepbrother, Nick, a spoiled and arrogant rich kid who introduces her to a life of suspenseful illegal street racing and pretentious pool parties. It is a story of enemies to lovers.
“People were so happy [the first] story, they wanted more, so that’s when I decided it was going to be three books,” says Ron, reflecting on writing her trilogy at 19. ok what can i do Make them break up or hate each other? I’m a fan of the enemies to lovers trope, so the whole time I was like, ok i want them to fight. That’s the main thing I wanted to try.”
Culpa Tuya takes viewers on a new journey of emotions: betrayal, heartbreak, love and lust. Spanish actress Nicole Wallace and Spanish-Cuban actor Gabriel GuevaraHis love story continues as characters Noah and Nick — respectively — but new challenges arise as Nick starts a new job and Noah starts college.
“[Noah’s] a really good example of a teenage girl going through life and feeling all the things you should feel when you’re that age, but doing it with a lot of strength,” Wallace tells Somos of her character.
Ron agrees. He was involved in the entire production of the film, from writing to casting. The cast consists mainly of Spanish actors, but there are also some Latinos present in the films, such as Guevara, a Mexican-Cuban actor Victor Varona (who plays Lion), and a Colombian actor Felipe Londoño (Luke).
“I feel a great responsibility and I feel lucky to be able to represent the Afro community [from] Mexico, Afro-Latino, which all Latinos strongly represent at this time in Europe. We’re making history right now because I think 20 years ago we would have [not be able to be here]. We always have to increase it so that it is known that there is an Afro-Mexican community,” Varona tells Somos on the red carpet of the Fan World Premiere in Madrid.
Ron hopes that the success of the Culpables trilogy and its adaptations could lead to more opportunities for Latino and Hispanic writers. “We are [already] achieving so much with this film and the books,” he says. Culpa Mia became the largest non-English original production in Prime Video history. Since its premiere, it has ranked among the top 10 most-watched titles in more than 190 countries, including the US, UK, Australia, India, Argentina and France. Although the location of the trilogy film takes place in Spain, more than 75% of its viewers come from outside the country.
The Culpables series ends with Culpa Nuestra, due out in 2025. But there’s a lot more to Ron than that. The original saga will have an English adaptation, My mistake: London (2025), and Ron’s young adult romantic drama “Dímelo Bajito” has also been adapted into film and will premiere on Prime Video this year.
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